Conditions at immigration detention facilities in California are deteriorating, with detainees facing poor access to clean drinking water and delayed medical treatment. California Attorney General Rob Bonta stated on Friday, May 15, that the federal government is paying for-profit, private companies to operate these centers, leading to "inhumane, cruel and unacceptable conditions." This assessment comes from the California Department of Justice’s fifth report on facilities holding people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Capital's Harvest of Suffering
The report covers seven immigration facilities operating in California in 2025: Adelanto ICE Processing Center, Desert View Annex, Imperial Regional Detention Facility, Otay Mesa Detention Center, Golden State Annex, Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility, and California City Detention Facility. Bonta attributed the worsening conditions to President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign and a policy change that ended the release of individuals on bonds. The number of detainees in the state surged from 2,303 during the state’s 2023 inspections to 6,028 as of site visits last year, with Adelanto ICE Processing Center experiencing the largest population increase.
Detainees at multiple facilities reported overcrowding, undercooked food, inadequate clothing, and poor access to clean drinking water. They also reported inconsistent access to requested medical appointments and a failure to receive necessary and timely medical treatment, including for emergency care. The California City Detention Center was described as inadequately staffed and often diverging from national detention standards, with detainees reporting it was being run "like a prison." Between September 2025 and March 2026, six deaths occurred in these facilities, with four at Adelanto and two at the Imperial Regional Detention Center.
The State's Complicity
ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to the California DOJ’s findings. The federal government's role in contracting these for-profit entities, and ICE's monitoring of their operations, underscores the state's function in facilitating the extraction of surplus value from human suffering. Adelanto, Desert View, Golden State, and Mesa Verde are operated by GEO Group. A GEO Group spokesperson claimed its support services are monitored by ICE, including by on-site agency personnel, to ensure compliance with ICE’s detention standards and contract requirements. The spokesperson stated that issues identified are quickly resolved as required by ICE’s Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan, and that individuals are provided access to various medical professionals.
CoreCivic, which operates California City and Otay Mesa, through spokesperson Ryan Gustin, asserted that the safety, health, and well-being of individuals in their care is a top priority. Gustin stated CoreCivic adheres to all applicable federal detention standards and is subject to multiple layers of oversight by government partners. He also claimed detainees have access to health care services, with emergency care available around the clock, and that facilities adhere to federal detention standards, including staffing. Management & Training Corporation (MTC), operating the Imperial Regional facility, acknowledged concerns over specialist referrals and follow-up care for chronic conditions, stating it was reviewing records and processes to address any identified gaps.
The Cycle of Inaction
The May 15 report was the California DOJ’s fifth examining conditions at these facilities. Bonta remarked, "Five reports on substandard and inhumane conditions since 2019 are five too many." This repeated documentation of deteriorating conditions, without fundamental change, highlights the limitations of reform efforts within a system designed to concentrate wealth through the privatization of state functions. The continued operation of these facilities by private corporations, despite documented abuses and deaths, demonstrates how the state's legal and regulatory frameworks primarily function to protect accumulated wealth and the profits of capital, rather than ensuring the well-being of the dispossessed.